


The Specifics of Silence

by filthyfuckingfiction



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: M/M, Mind Palace, Multi, Pining, Polyamorous relationship, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-19 08:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29747745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/filthyfuckingfiction/pseuds/filthyfuckingfiction
Summary: The silence in their downtime has gotten to feel a lot more ominous with the surfacing of the two Dark Sides. As much as he'd like to ignore them both, there's something about the pair that's nagging at Logan.----The first chapter of a commissioned work.
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Implied Roman/Virgil
Kudos: 11





	The Specifics of Silence

**Author's Note:**

> I have almost certainly tagged this incorrectly, and for that I apologize.

Silent days were the worst. None of the Sides were ever really alone, if only by the technicalities of their own existence, but Thomas’ worries and thoughts usually provided familiar background noise that permeated the walls in a soft hum. It never really _stopped_ , per se, but there were days when Thomas was too wrapped up in what he was doing for much of the outside world to make its way in. Logan would have found the silence comforting, had it not been for the complications it presented. 

For a good while, making things work with his unconventional roommates had been easy. They all had their spats, of course- the revelation of Virgil being a former Dark Side had made for a particularly awkward couple of weeks in which they’d all avoided each other, suspicious-, but they were ultimately designed to work together. There was always a bigger goal to reach than whatever inconsequential argument they’d all gotten into. Usually, the silence had been comforting. 

Up until Remus and Janus had showed up. Silence had ceased to be a comfort and became something to be interrupted, or a time to wait for the other shoe to drop. It made sense for those two to drive on chaos, but Logan had trouble grasping why he was their preferred victim. Surely Virgil or Roman were easier targets- a defected Dark Side and a drama queen had buttons just waiting to be pushed. Lately, though, it seemed like the Dark Sides had set their crosshairs on Logan, specifically. One of these days, he was going to tell them off. 

“Hey, nerd. Did you mean to break into a monologue? I appreciate it, it’s very nice, but it doesn’t seem like your thing. Needs a little more emotion, too.” Roman’s voice startled Logan out of his thoughts, and Logan jumped, just a little. Whenever he sank deep into his thoughts, it was hard to get him smoothly back to reality. He glanced back at Roman, sitting up a little bit. Roman had joined him on the couch a few hours ago, having taken a break from comforting Virgil about the worry of the day to get attention from elsewhere. After twenty minutes of trying to nag Logan away from his book and failing, Roman had acquiesced to being used as an item to lean on. Logan chuckled nervously, eyes moving back and forth across the cavernous living room. 

“No. Not at all, actually.” he admitted after a moment, rubbing the back of his neck and mentally scolding himself. Fantasizing aloud wasn’t his style, and it’d always served him well to keep his thoughts to himself unless educating someone else. “What did I say?” Roman shrugged, sneaking a peek at Logan’s book over his shoulder. Finding little to interest him within the pages of _This New Ocean_ , he soon gave up. 

“I only heard half of it, but you were rambling about Remus and Janus bothering you. You sounded pretty worked up about it.” Roman instinctively rolled his eyes upon mentioning of the pair. Logan wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or exasperated by his unwavering cheerfulness, but Roman was at least not actively adding to the paranoia. “Listen, weren’t you the one who told Thomas to just ignore them? It seems to work. They throw tantrums about it, but they leave eventually.” Roman presented the advice with his whole chest, earning himself a skeptical look from Logan himself. He was well aware that Roman was just regurgitating the results that the others had gotten. Roman’s ego was large enough to fill its own room, and the Dark Sides latched onto manipulating it like starving dogs to a bone. 

“...And goodness knows you’re so good at doing that.” Logan replied dryly. It wasn’t intended to be a dig, but he couldn’t stop himself from pointing out the obvious. Roman deflated just a little. 

“I’ll get better at it. They’ve both got a flair for the dramatic. You can’t blame me for getting distracted.” Logan smirked upon hearing the whine in Roman’s voice, settling down deeper into the couch. As disconcerting as it was to be Janus and Remus’ new favorite, at least he knew he wasn’t the _worst_ at handling it. Any attention was a reward, something that Roman didn’t seem to grasp. Roman had a point, buried in hypocrisy as it was; he’d just have to learn to ignore the Dark Sides. 

“I’m sure you can get attention from elsewhere, Your Highness.” Logan nodded a little to show some semblance of friendliness, though his eyes were already drifting back to his book. Roman huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Not from you, obviously.” Even so, he knew better than to continue to disturb Logan on his ‘day off’. Roman heaved a long-suffering sigh before getting to his feet, Logan grunting quietly as he lost his headrest in the process. Roman nudged the pillow over to his fellow Side, shoving it beneath his head. He did it so casually that it could have been a coincidence, though both of them knew it wasn’t. Logan accepted the help without comment, watching as Roman dusted himself off and stepped back. “Fine, I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got to put a script together anyways- Thomas has that part for the time travel webseries to try out for. Try not to talk to yourself too much while I’m gone.” Logan raised a hand, but didn’t look up from his book. Since he and Roman had started getting along, he’d found it best to not push it.

He tried to find the silence comforting again. Once Roman’s footsteps trailed off, he focused back in on the specifics of ballistic satellites. It might have seemed odd for the Sides to spend time apart, but things got strained if they didn’t preserve their alone time. Introverted at heart, that was usually fine with Logan, but...

Wait. Just there- it wasn’t true silence anymore. There was a sort of hiss on the breeze, like nails grating on a chalkboard. He knew that noise. It was-

“My, my. Logan, I thought you were polite enough not to talk about someone when he’s not around.” Janus’ voice came from behind him. Logan had only just turned to look when Janus was suddenly sitting on the arm of the couch, crossing his legs at the ankle and draping them over Logan’s own. He was smiling, hands steepled atop his knee, a curious light in his eyes as he watched him. Logan acted instinctively, swatting Janus’ legs off of him. So much for ignoring him, he supposed. Really, it was as if the Dark Sides had no concept of personal space. If Janus was fazed by the rejection, he didn’t show it. “Really, if you wanted to see us, you only had to ask. Our rooms are just down the hall... relatively speaking.” A grimace briefly flickered across Janus’ face. ‘Down the hall’ translated to the Dark Sides inhabiting a floor below the others’ space, only venturing into the living areas occasionally. It wasn’t an intentional segregation... or, well, not one that had ever been put into words. Thinking about it made a flag go up in Logan’s head, one that read UNFAIR in no uncertain terms. He pushed it out of his mind, reluctantly meeting Janus’ eyes. Ignoring him might have been the best option, but he couldn’t help but be curious. 

“It’s not that I wanted to see you. I just wanted some tips on dealing with you, that’s all.” Janus snickered, putting a gloved hand over his chest in faux indignation. 

“Dealing with me? You make me sound like such a pest.” Again, it was anyone’s guess whether Janus was actually offended. Logan narrowed his eyes at him, scooting over an inch or two to put some distance between the two of them. This was an opportunity to make Janus get to the point, though. Logan waved a hand impatiently, fixing him with a long stare. 

“What is it? You can’t have just come upstairs because you heard someone mention you.” he said plainly. For a second, something strange flashed in Janus’ slit eyes. It was gone as soon as it appeared, and Janus smiled. 

“No, not usually. You all rarely have anything nice to say. It’s a shame you can’t recognize help when it comes to you.” Janus sighed, a level of dramatic not dissimilar to Roman’s heavy huffs. He perked up immediately, though, pointing a finger at Logan. “But you were curious, so I came. Besides, I’m dying to know what you meant by claiming you’d tell us off.” Logan made the mistake of reading Janus’ face rather than simply watching him and immediately regretted it. The look he was getting was not unlike one a predator would level at its prey, and it made him squirm. Faced with such blunt commentary, he found all of his potential comebacks faltering on his tongue. 

“Well, I’d be wasting my breath to come out with it now, since only one of you is here.” Logan forced himself to look back to his book, eyes fixing on a random sentence in his attempts to pick up where he’d left off. He knew he wouldn’t be able to pay a lick of attention to it, but it was better than giving Janus his undivided attention. “Where is Remus, anyway?” Out of his peripheral vision, he saw a smirk start on Janus’ face and backtracked. “That’s not an invitation. It just seems strange for only one of you to have come up for this.” Janus didn’t answer for a moment before reaching out, swiftly closing the book on Logan’s lap. Logan made an irritated noise in the back of his throat, scrambling to get his place back. He wasn’t quite fast enough, though. Janus snatched the book, peering at one of its hundreds of pages.

“What’s this? NASA research...? This does seem like the kind of thing you’d like. Riveting.” As per usual, the sarcasm dripped off his tone. Janus closed the book, setting it off to the side and dropping his facade. His eyes briefly darted towards the door that led to the stairwell, and he frowned, just a little. It didn’t last long, but his eyes remained dark for a moment longer before he forced a smile. “Remus is busy. Don’t worry, though- I’m more than happy to pass on the message.” Logan was lost for words, thinking back to the incidents that had made him so uncomfortable in the first place. _Janus and Remus’ relentless questions about what the Sides got up to in their absence, seemingly always directed at Logan alone. The ever-present lack of personal space, the strange attempts to fill Logan in on their activities as if trying to gain favor with him... No matter how thoroughly he mulled it over, he could find no logical explanation for it._

“...I don’t understand why you’re so interested in me. But I’d like you both to leave me alone.” Immediately, he got the impression that he had said the wrong thing. Janus’ face broke into an even bigger smile. 

“It’s interesting that you should say that.” he started. Logan was already rubbing his forehead, realizing that he’d inadvertently started the other Side on a speech. Janus paid him no attention. “I wasn’t aware that we’d been paying more attention to you than anyone else. Thank you for pointing that out.” Logan was just beginning to bristle at the condescension, ducking his head and continuing to massage his temple. Oh, he could already feel the headache coming on. Logan waited for the rest of the speech, but it didn’t come. After a long pause, Janus finally did something. Logan was startled into stillness when Janus reached out and forced Logan to look at him, his fingers under Logan’s chin. Logan jolted, too surprised to move right away. Janus seemed amused by his response, drawing back after a few seconds. “Sorry, but I can’t stand not having an audience.” 

“It’s fine.” came Logan’s instinctive response. It wasn’t fine, but he was still too startled by the sudden contact to say much else. Save forced group hugs and the occasional handshake between him and Thomas, Logan didn’t engage in much physical contact with the others. It wasn’t inherently unwelcome- in fact, it almost felt like it was long overdue-, but knowing who it had come from was what was getting him. Janus studied him for a moment before seizing the opportunity to make a point, reaching out again and lightly flicking the spot he’d grabbed. That time around, Logan was ‘with it’ enough to swat his hand away. Janus seemed to pout for a moment. 

“I’ll be happy to pass the message along when Remus isn’t quite as busy, but I’d like to ask a favor in return.” Rather than answer directly, Logan just waved a hand at Janus in silent acceptance. He knew the other well enough to know that Janus wasn’t asking permission for a thing, just accentuating his ramblings with flavor. Janus continued without a hitch, examining his nails as he did so. “Have you ever considered that what you think we’re doing is all in your head?” 

“...What?” It was such a ridiculous question that it took Logan a moment to even come up with an answer. He shook his head, starting to get irritated again. Logan pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, regarding his companion with open exasperation. “That kind of thing might work on the others, but I thought you’d know that you’d be wasting the effort, trying it with me.” Janus giggled as if Logan had cracked the funniest joke he’d ever heard, tipping his head back and reveling in it for a moment.

“No, no. I don’t mean that you’re making it up. That suggestion is really more Remus’ department, anyway.” he answered dismissively. Janus leaned backwards across the couch, his spine making a sickening snapping sound as he did. His voice seemed to echo off the walls as he went on, clearly enjoying the attention. “What I mean is, well... are you sure you’re not just imagining things because you’re getting attention? I have to figure that the others are a little dull by now- they’re _predictable_. It’s normal to be captivated by new things, new people. _Logical_ , even.” The last two words felt like a slap in the face. Logan instinctively scowled, reacting on a hair trigger.

“The others aren’t boring, and you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Even as he said it, a flare of curiosity started in his chest. Other than the jab at his... roommates, Janus had presented a concept he hadn’t thought of. He didn’t know much about the other two, after all- was it possible that they were only trying to be friendly? Or maybe they needed an in with the other Sides. Friends would certainly be easier to sway to their side of an argument. Were they buttering him up for that kind of thing- worse, did they think he was weak? Remus wasn’t here, and Logan couldn’t decide if that was better or worse- this way, there was only one voice to confuse him, but this voice lied. Janus hadn’t said anything else, but Logan was doing a wonderful job of working himself up. All of a sudden, Janus’ body was curled behind the couch in an unnatural way, his head popping up right beside Logan. Logan startled again, jumping as Janus dropped _This New Ocean_ back into his lap. 

“Sorry to interrupt, but I could tell I was losing you.” He could tell that Janus was holding in a laugh, and Logan bristled yet again. Janus was suddenly standing a few feet away from the couch, still giving Logan that same predatory stare. The conversation had gone absolutely nowhere, and yet he still felt like he’d lost. At what, he didn’t know. Janus nodded ever so slightly, gaze again swinging back towards the stairwell.

“Well, this has been fun. I hope I’ve answered some questions for you.” He didn’t even try to hide his smugness, though it seemed forced the longer he looked towards the lower floor. “If you decide you like being an interest to someone, you know where to find us.” Logan opened his mouth to speak, only for Janus to vanish in front of him. 

“The stairs are _right there_.” It was the only thing he could think to blurt out, and Logan glared at the stairway. What a drama queen. Logan stood from the couch, blowing a harsh breath out through his teeth as he pocketed his book. Suited him right for daring to talk about Remus and Janus out loud, anyway. Now he only had more questions. Were the other two toying with him? And what on Earth was Remus so busy with that he would pass up an opportunity to join in the torment? 

He cracked open his book to place a bookmark, pausing when he found the page he’d been on. Scrawled in an obvious mockery of Roman’s writing, in thick golden marker, a short message covered most of the page. It read, succinctly:

_Lighten up, nerd._

Logan stared at it for a moment before turning on his heel, staring daggers at the door to the stairwell. Bright golden ink... on the entire page. Of his brand new novel.

Thomas was mid-sentence when he heard Logan begin to yell.


End file.
